Brad Brownell seems to have hotseat questions nearly every season at some point. At the beginning of season when Clemson had dropped 6 of 7 games, those questions started again.
It’s safe to say after wins over Duke, Louisville, and Florida State the last few weeks, Brownell will be back for 2021. In fact there is no question about that happening. During the Florida State game, and before it was over I tweeted this.
Whether Clemson wins or not today they have an underclassmen nucleus that can reach the NCAAs next year.
— Jeff or Jeffrey Fann (@TalkinACCSports) February 29, 2020
That certainly didn’t look the case when Clemson was struggling back in December. Notably they got Clyde Trapp back from injury and Clemson has gradually improved. As most young teams with talent do, Clemson looks a lot better at home than on the road. With the home wins we already mentioned Duke, Louisville, and Florida State you can see the potential of where this team could be next year.
Freshman guard Al-Amir Dawes has come alive in recent weeks, scored 18 points and the game winning basketball against Florida State. Sophomore John Newman is quickly becoming one of the more athletic wings in the ACC, and also scored 18 against Florida State. His game has been punctuated by several highlight reel dunks. Freshman Alex Hemenway might be Clemson’s best spot-up perimeter shooter since Terrance Oglesby. Sophomore Hunter Tyson has become a more physical player and can rebound and shoot.
These are all young players that Clemson should expect to return. Clyde Trapp would be your senior PG. Trapp needs to improve his free throw shooting, but he does an effective job of getting the Tigers into their offense.
The X-Factor would be the return of Aamir Simms. Simms is Clemson’s most talented and versatile player. Simms is capable of knocking down 3’s, bringing the ball up the court, and even has seen significant time at the 5 position.
If Simms is back Clemson would have a nice mixture of upper class players, young talent, and one of Brownell better recruiting classes which includes top 100 players P.J. Hall and Olivier-Maxence Prosper.
Clemson has shown glimpse of their potential this year. Next year has a chance to be special in Tiger Town.
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